


Days in the Sun

by Xarnluz



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Beauty/Beast AU, Fluff and Angst, M/M, i wish it was naughty but i chickened out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2020-06-03 16:58:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19468228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xarnluz/pseuds/Xarnluz
Summary: Never go into the woods alone, boy. There be monsters and beasts who would tear you to shreds in seconds.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> For two years I have been thinking about Beauty and the Beast AUs for mkkg and after two years I've written one. The tamest of them all. I just want Mika to kiss a beast. Please.

Stones cut into the flesh of his feet as he stumbled through the brush. Twigs and branches alike caressing his skin like razors. It was dark and his eyes couldn’t adjust but nothing would slow him.

_ Never go into the woods alone, boy. There be monsters and beasts who would tear you to shreds in seconds. _

Wiping tears from his sunken cheeks he persisted. The wind whistling through the tree tops and critters, oh please be critters, shuffling in the underbrush helped none for the panicked heartbeat his hollow chest was barely containing. 

_ Ma told me there used to be a castle up that mountain. Prob’ly like a hundred years ago ‘cause no one remembers it. Sweet secret base that’d be. We gotta -- _

His breath was running short. He was used to being on the run but not for this length of time. He needed to rest, a two second rest. Needed to get control of his lungs that were ready to burst. He couldn’t though. If he stopped he’d be caught; by the monsters both human and mythical alike, or the hunger pains he had been running away from for as many years as he’d lived.

_ They say there used to be a royal family that looked after this town. One day they just POOF disappeared. I ain’t never seen no royals here. This shit town? Scraping shit off shoes for 70 years I ‘ave! We cursed I tell ya. _

His breath was coming out in ragged gasps, like the old lady who used to sneer at him when he walked by her bakery not caring that he noticed. They would start as small wheezes that turned into loud throat ripping coughs. His were threatening to do just that. Finally listening to his shriveling lungs, he paused. His palms felt wet against the rough bark of the tree he hid behind. He could see nothing but hopefully that meant nothing would see him either if he was hidden away in the foliage. 

Wiping the sweat off his face with his tattered shirt helped none to cool him off either. Blood pumped through him at an alarming pace and his cheeks were flushed even with the chill of the creeping night. He paused mid wipe of his neck when he heard branches rustle.

Just a rabbit. Just a bird. Just something really tiny he could fend off himself. Just a --

A low growl only something truly not ‘just really tiny’ came from his left. Break was over. The fire in his lungs had died down to hot embers, but quickly it was rekindled as he ran from the sound and towards what he hoped was his goal. 

Running may not have been the best choice, but lying in wait for whatever that thing was to find and eat him was just as stupid. If he was to be prey he was going to be a runner. If he could just survive until the gates he knew had to be close, everything would be alright.

The townsfolk never ventured into the woods because of the curse being whispered about. Or mentioned the castle that had to be there beause they never saw its occupants, but he knew. The memory wasn’t clear but he swore he saw a guard once, before he brought kids in. When he was a kid himself huddled away in a wall crevice watching people pass by him. In that barren town now devoid of life. There was something there -- here.

But there wasn’t.

No gates. No castle of riches. Not even a beaten down haunted mansion from years of neglect to use as a secret base. Just an empty clearing with dead remains of plants that tried to thrive on the land and couldn’t. It was all useless.

Not only had his town abandoned him, staring into the feral amber eyes of  _ whatever _ was finally closing in on him, but so too had the heavens.

His feet didn’t move. There was no point. The last thread of hope he held, had just been snipped. His heart slowed, his breathing evened out. He had given up on himself the same way the world had given up on him.

The beast approached -- glowing eyes the only thing he could make out amidst the shadows -- the last thing he saw before his vision blackened completely. 


	2. Chapter 1

A blur of raven black hair was all the townsfolk would see most early mornings; the young boy pilfering yet another loaf of bread or a satchel of nuts. They had all succumbed to the notion that there was no stopping that thief. With eyes given from the devil himself, none had bothered to even offer honest work to make amends. The town was already in shambles, on its last legs figuratively as well as literally with only the elderly and the too young -- too sick, there was no sense flirting with such a bad omen. Better to watch him slowly wither away himself. Maybe then light would shine once again on the small desolate town. 

The boy in question had turned into an alleyway with a freshly baked bun and climbed a tucked away ladder to get to his hidden crawl space of a home. The holes in the brown cloth hanging from the ceiling beams filtered warm sunlight into the chilly den. Winter was approaching and this year seemed to be coming quicker than the last. 

“Thanks Mika-nii,” a gravelly voice rasped from the corner as Mika gave the boy the pastry.

The kid tried to swallow a bite, but could only cough and left the barely touched bun rest in his lap. He had been like that for days. Not eating, hardly drinking. Mika knew his time was coming soon as well. Just like all the others he had tried to help. 

There used to be six of them hiding in that crawl space. Huddled together for warmth in the brutal winters that were only getting colder as the years went on, or they were just getting more and more weak, and lying together in nothing but their underpants in the scorching summers. Abandoned kids he picked up in the streets whether they be orphans who’s parents had moved on to greener pastures and left their young behind or sickly children none had wanted in the first place.

Mika was used to living on the streets, stealing to get by, being scoffed at or beaten some days for the way his eyes looked -- crystal blue wasn’t an uncommon colour, but the amber of his other was just a gateway for demons they said -- but he would never get used to seeing other kids like him alone on the streets. Since he could remember he had been helping them out. Just a child himself, but Mika took up the big brother role and helped feed and clothe and hide the ones he could. He might have neglected himself at times, but he didn’t matter if the ones he looked after were alright. 

Together the group had been happy. Sharing fairy tales when no one could sleep. The youngest of the group, Kana always had the best ones. Unlike the rest, she had been blessed with loving parents who had met their end far too soon. Telling bedtime stories children should be listening to and not the grotesque legends that fluttered around the streets; of princesses in castles filled to the brim with gold beyond imagining and sweets so tasty you’d be stuffed before dinner even arrived. Of rose bushes tended to so lovingly they bloomed even out of season just to greet their tenders. A paradise where it was sunny all the time and gloom never stayed. It was the perfect tale to hear when the howling wind swept snow into their hideout. To them Kana was their sun. Her smile shone bright enough to keep the shadows at bay. It was only natural that even that sliver of happiness be taken away from them. 

Last winter it wasn’t only hail and snow that covered the town, a sickness unlike any other came with it. Starting with headaches and coughing fits, and ending with pools of blood in hands that should never have had to touch such. It took them all. The twins, the girl who was just as young as Mika when he was first left on his own, Kana. It was swift and it was painful. Just as quick as it had come, it left, and in its wake a sea of corpses to add to a township that had barely enough to get by. After the pandemic, anyone who saw Mika in the streets would turn away. Fearful that he was the cause of it. He had been one of the few survivors surely he was the devil’s conduit. 

The year that followed was harsher than any other. No food to go around, no able bodies to hunt, no wildlife foolish enough to wander into their fields, for there was nothing to attract them in the first place. With only Mika and Hide left the year was bleaker than ever.

What little food Mika was able to pilfer went to Hide. His own body was slowing down, thinning out but it was fine if Hide got better. His illness had him bedridden for months. Slowly his body was shutting down, but slow meant that Mika had time to find a cure. A magic herb that could remedy whatever it was Hide had gotten. He was having no luck though, only returning with crumbs of a meal that couldn’t even be consumed. 

Mika ran his hands through thinning sandy brown hair.

“Try to get some of it down ‘kay?” he ushered. 

Instead of replying the boy lay back down on the straw mat and turned to face Mika. 

“Mika-nii, tell me that story again,” Hide whispered, closing his sunken eyes. “The one the villagers always whisper about.”

Mika let out a chuckle. 

“Ya really like that one, huh? Well there’s a reason the folks around here tell all the kids to stay put, it’s ‘cause not even a day’s away from here is a haunted forest. Anyone who dares to play in those woods never come back; it’s why this town’s so small. They thought the elders were full of nonsense and ran off to play. One day though a lucky kid, or unlucky if ya ask me, made it back, blood dripping all down his side from the stump he had left of his arm. Killed the wolf he said, found a castle full of riches unguarded now that he’d slain it. His parents and few of the neighbours were dumb enough to believe ‘im and together they went back to the forest. Never returned. Ya here some say they wish they followed them ‘cause they living the life of royalty now, but most say something different. They say the boy was actually the wolf in disguise. That the boy didn’t fill his beastly appetite and he came back for a meal. Some even say maybe the beast is still living in the village preying on the unsuspecting in the night..” 

And with that Mika wiggled his fingers like he had cast a spell on the boy, who was nearly asleep. 

“Ma told me,” the boy murmured. “ There used to be a castle up that mountain. Prob’ly like a hundred years ago ‘cause no one remembers it. Great gran’pa said his ma told him about the beast that kept watch. He must be dead by now. Sweet secret base that’d be. The look on Kana’s face if she could see the princess’ castle all rundown and abandoned. Spook her real good it would’ve. She always the spooky stories ya told more, y’could tell. We gotta --” His voice trailed off, and Hide fell asleep. 

Only come morning he didn’t wake up. Mika had ducked out early to find an herbal tea he heard might cure chest pains, and on his return a motionless body was the only thing to greet him. 

It was a cold morning to be burying a corpse, soil hard to pierce with a rusted shovel and bare hands, but it was the least Mika could do. The only thing he could do for all of them; keep them together at least in their final resting place. A little ways out of that town that showed them no love, no empathy. 

Walking back with a shovel held in dirt covered hands, was met with sneers. 

“Took another one did ye?” The old bat from the bakery jeered. “Couldn’t have just taken yerself with ‘em could ya? Nay, gotta keep cursing us ‘til yer the only one left eh?” 

Mika was used to her snide remarks, the mocking, the hatred. He tolerated it day after day for years because he had someone to return to. People who cherished him, relied on him, gave him the strength to look past it. Now he had no one. He was truly alone. 

Lying in the bed that once was kept warm by Hide, felt so cold that night. Winter around the corner; no food in his belly. Mika grabbed the now stale bun that had a single bite taken from it and chewed between sobs. 

That night Mika dreamed of darkened bronze gates hidden away in a secluded forest. The gates were rundown and the lock broken, and standing on the other side were the twins ushering him through. They did a spectacle of a dance across the lawn that still had flowers blooming between the weeds and together they pushed open the mansion doors to reveal cobwebbed portraits hanging on the walls and creaking stairs that the young girl was already skipping down to greet him. They showed him the secret passage way maids must have used in their time and together they all scurried up them to the princess’s room. 

There Kana stood in an old moth eaten dress with layers upon layers of fabric, gazing out the window at what must have been a regal rose garden in its day but now only half the shrubs had bloomed. Kana turned to Mika and the smile that crossed her face was blinding. So blinding he couldn’t see the hand that stretched out to him, so he jumped when it firmly grabbed his shoulder.

“I told ya this was a good secret base!” Hide exclaimed, eyes looking healthy and hair full, cheeks rosy. Mika turned around to see the others again. They too all looked healthier than ever. Happier than they ever were in life. 

Mika woke from the dream with fresh tears dripping down his sunken cheeks and a heart full of determination. There was nothing left in this town for him. There never really was, but now it was only more obvious. The town would be glad to be rid of him and if Mika was to join his friends it would be at that secret base. That castle of wonders in the forest of no return. There was a small part of him that wanted to believe that tale of the boy who returned with only a missing limb. He and his family and close friends living happily away from the wastelands of where Mika was now. Perhaps they had children of their own and the new generation would welcome strangers. 

Grabbing the only satchel he owned, Mika went into town to find food for his trip. Half a day away they said, but the ground frosted over at night and he hadn’t eaten more than a handful of nuts, giving everything he could to Hide in hopes … Mika shook his head, and headed for the bakery. As much as he didn’t like to take from the same people, she was the only one who had stock so early in the day. Most stalls waited until noon to set up now that the mornings were so crisp. He didn’t expect to see so many people crowded around the place though. 

There was no time to hide his approach before everyone turned around to gaze at him. 

“What did I tell ya!” the crone yelled. “Out so early to get rid of me! Saw him burying another one ‘n now he’s come to dispose of me!” 

Mika gave a look of panic. The men standing around the woman were tall and muscular, even if a little past their prime. Where Mika was skin and bones, they were full from tending to near infertile fields. He could hear them all talking at once.

_ Winter’s supposed to be a moon away _

_ This town is cursed because of you _

_ How did you survive that plague _

_ How many people have you killed already _

_ We all knew you were really the wolf in disguise _

The old woman only had to point her finger and Mika bolted out the door. Running out of town limits with nothing but an empty bag and the clothes on his back. He could hear footsteps following him but he never slowed. Mika didn’t know what a half day meant when it came to on foot, but he would try his hardest. His kids were counting on him. Their dreams would become a reality. It was the least Mika could do.


	3. Chapter 2

When Mika opened his eyes, it was to sun filtering through the treetops. It was still dark, but light enough that his poor eyes were able to adjust and finally properly look around. Nothing but trees and ... the thing that was hunting him yesterday sleeping only a handful of feet away from him and he wasn’t dead yet? 

Mika wasn’t dead. It was a realization that came slower than ever, but no  _ the thing  _ \-- that looked like a wolf just way bigger to be honest, though Mika wasn’t exactly sure how big wolves got to be when they were well fed and not the weak things that would sometimes venture to the outskirts of his village -- hadn’t eaten him. Instead it had curled up into itself, grey fur striking against the dark foliage around them. Mika let out a squeak of surprise when its amber eyes promptly opened, probably sensing Mika staring at it intensely.

“Ah … Good mornin’?” voice low, so as not to disturb it. Last night he was much more calm about the confrontation, but now his heart was back to near panic and a million things raced through his head; could he stand up before the beast did? Could he outrun something with half the leg power? Did he even want to? There was no chance of escaping, no destination to even run to. He settled for collapsing into his himself and hugging his knees. 

“Why didn’t ya kill me when ya caught me? Am I really so cursed, even animals sense it? Losin’ friends, wiping out a village,” Mika clutched his knees harder, tears starting to spill. “They said it was my fault, so I ran away to see if the stories were true ‘bout a secret hideaway here, but it’s just dirt! The last chance! Just eat me already so I can rot here like I’m s’posed to.”

A stomach grumbled. Mika’s.

Finally the wolf made its move. Leisurely it stood up, stretching itself out. It was definitely longer than Mika in size. Mika guessed it was male from the blocky muzzle that was now wide open in a yawn, showing off razor sharp teeth. Better fed, better kept. It’s fur looked sleek and groomed while Mika was dingy and unwashed, partially from being on the run, but also just from little resources. Water was just as limited as food in the village. The animal took one long look at Mika’s puffy face, and ran off in the other direction.

Mika was left there alone in the clearing. So unappealing even an all mighty beast didn’t want him. Not enough meat on his bones he guessed. Or maybe he was tainted and would have made him sick. Imagine him, some sad kid ready to die, ultimately slaying the beast of the woods on the account of rotting insides. Mika wasn’t sure if this could be seen as good or bad luck anymore. 

Not much time passed when the wolf returned holding a rabbit in its jaw. Mika awkwardly sat staring at both it and the wolf sat in front of him. 

“For me?” he asked, even though the beast obviously couldn’t understand him. 

The corpse dropped into his lap and Mika gave a stiff thanks not exactly knowing what to do. These recent events made no sense to him, like he really had died and was living in some other plane of existence where a wild animal felt so sorry for it’s prey it had to feed it before consuming it themselves. 

Looking around the base of the tree he leaned against, Mika scraped together a few twigs for a fire. It was nerve wracking having glowing eyes trained on his every movement -- especially when he had to make many because the fire just wouldn’t light! -- but the wolf didn’t seem bothered. It waited patiently and even tore the rabbit into pieces to eat itself while Mika roasted his own share. 

Mika couldn’t help but laugh and say this was the friendliest interaction he’d had with a stranger in a long time. How most would rather pretend he didn’t exist or beat him when he did. Instead he had a good meal, decent company, and the killing presence looming over him was actually a couple notches lower. That in itself was suspicious.

“You didn’t signal yer pack or anything did ya?” he asked between bites. “Did they say I was too skinny and order ya to fatten me up? ‘M grateful, but I dunno if there’s enough of me to share anyway.”

No response. Mika didn’t recall hearing howls or anything either, so maybe he was safe. As safe as one could be alone in a forest with a beast twice his size. 

Belly full for once in his life, Mika decided to look around while there was still sunlight. Maybe the castle or mansion or whatever was out there and he just missed it. How he could have missed giant iron gates he didn’t know, but maybe he didn’t go far enough or something. Wolf making no attempt to follow him, Mika set out. 

The trek wasn’t completely fruitless. He did manage to find a shrub of berries for snacking on during his journey. He filled his empty satchel with what he could and continued on. Night crept up on him once more before he could see any sign of shelter though. The chill of the wind sliced through his thin top leaving Mika to rub at his arms vigorously to keep them from seizing up on him. Too far to return to his starting point, did he even know where that was now, he tried to look for some kind of shelter. A patch of bushes or a tree trunk to block the wind. Anything to keep him a teeny bit warmer. He found a hollowed out tree trunk lying on the forest floor that looked like it had been something else’s home at one point, and decided that was it. The hole wasn’t large enough to fit Mika’s small frame, but if he lied on the ground and stuck close, it might be tall enough to cut the wind off. He did just that, curling into the fetal position and waiting for the sun to rise once more. 

The following morning Mika was welcomed to warmth upon waking up. Like his entire body was encased in a wool blanket and sat in front of a fireplace. He didn’t recall starting a fire that night though. The wool didn’t feel quite right either, it was coarse and picking at him much like wool did, but thicker and softer the deeper into the blanket he delved. Mika tucked his face further into the blanket not wanting to leave it and let out a long sigh. The sigh was answered with a sneeze and the blanket shifting on its own. That definitely woke Mika up rightfully, and he did by shooting his eyes open and taking in the greyish blond fur draped over him. 

Mika wanted to know what the deal was with this animal. Refused to eat him, instead fattening him up. Now protecting him from the elements instead of letting him waste away in the bushes. Wasn’t he supposed to be the big bad wolf from the stories around town? Those had to have some truth in them, didn’t they? Was Mika allowed to let his guard down? It had been two? Three? Days since he had ran away and still he was in one piece, arguably in better peace than he was with his own species. 

And the peace strangely continued.

For days Mika ventured further, the wolf not far behind. Finally coming across a source of water, Mika was able to wash his body and grime encrusted hair. A decision he immediately regretted because the water was ice cold and his clothes were little more than rags to dry him. He stood along the shore of the stream shivering while putting his pants back on, one shaking leg at a time. Before getting his top over his head the wolf had wrapped itself around Mika. 

“Ehehe,” Mika buried himself into the wolf’s pelt. “Thank ya much.” 

The eyes constantly trained on Mika lost their predatory aura. When did they stop feeling menacing and instead like a caregiver watching for their young? How quickly he had learned to trust the beast. Maybe too quickly, because when they returned to the empty clearing where they had first met, Mika was reminded that the wolf was indeed a predator known for hunting large game.

He must have gotten all turned around while exploring. All the trees looked the same and with little landmarks to go by, it was only a matter of time before Mika unknowingly retraced his steps. Stepping through weeds he finds a ratty piece of fabric wrapped around his foot. It peeked out from a naked rose bush and as Mika stooped to get a closer look he noted the faded purple the fabric gave off under the flecks of dirt. It was frayed around the hem, a once lovely silver threaded hem with intricate detailing all around. Mika stood to air the fabric out and noted it must have been a cloak, with a large hood also etched with the silver embroidery. The back was torn in the center, almost like … a beast’s claw had slashed it. 

Under the bush a leather notebook was also hidden. He didn’t get far in flipping through the book, pages seemingly ripped out at random with words Mika couldn’t follow written on the weather stained sheets, when a growl pierced the air. Mika dropped both the notebook and the cloth sputtering apologies as the snarling wolf slowly approached him. 

“So this was your hiding spot, huh?” He stammered, slowly bending to stuff them both back in the hidey hole. 

Wolf continued to advance and with every step forward Mika took one unsteady step back, hands raised in front of him innocently.

“I swear I wasn’t snooping or nothing! It was an accident honest!” Frantic excuses that meant nothing to a beast who didn’t speak. “I can’t even read so there really isn’t anyt--” Mika tripped over a rock and fell backwards, landing on his rear while the wolf continued to advance. Deadly eyes trained on him. 

“‘M sorry! I’m real sorry! Eat me if you gotta but…” Why was Mika even pleading? Wasn’t this his original Plan B? Find the castle, get eaten alive if castle was a bust? He was having fun though, hunting for food and searching for treasure -- that didn’t exist apparently -- with an animal companion. Like he had become the protagonist of an old folks tale himself. 

He stared up at the wolf, amber and azure eyes filled with moisture, and the wolf stared back now in attacking distance. Its teeth were visible and terrifying with its muzzle scrunched up and threatening. They stayed there in a face off, Mika not wanting to make any sudden moves in case this really was the end for him, but the wolf shook its head to clear its mind and gave Mika one last stare before it backed off. Mika put a hand to his heart as if that would calm it down faster and slowly lifted himself off the ground. 

He was kind of scared to approach it, if he was honest with himself. He should have known better. That wild beasts were just that, wild. Unpredictable. Especially this one that was one second about to rip him to shreds and another second lying on the ground almost invitingly. On its side with its underbelly exposed like it was offering Mika his vulnerable side too. That seemed really stupid though and Mika scratched it from his mind because wild animals didn’t do that. It was probably just really comfy lying like that, not like it was trying to prove to Mika that they had reached some level of understanding and trust. 

It was even more stupid of Mika to test that level of trust and lie down in the dirt against that fluffy underbelly. He was flirting with danger, but it was only getting colder, and the night darker and who was he to say no? 

When he felt a wet swipe against his ear he didn’t think anything of it. Mika’s brain was out for the night. 


	4. Chapter 3

_ The man’s shining shoes were a juxtaposition to Mika’s own dirt caked feet. He didn’t look like he belonged there at all with his tall knee high boots and long brightly coloured cloak. The colour alone was a purple that none saw in everyday clothing. The silver edges twinkled in the sunlight. Stranger still was how the man approached Mika. Something only a newcomer would do, someone who didn’t know to ignore the child all had condemned.  _

_ “Chin up, kid,” the man said and tossed a decently sized apple into his lap along with a few coins.  _

_ Mika wasn’t so dumb as to not know how uncommon seeing gold in this town was. Quickly he pocketed them before anyone saw even a glint of the metal. The man was walking away by the time Mika looked up to thank him. He watched as he walked past the stalls. Purple cape swaying in his wake, silver embroidery causing passerbys to stop and stare. The man looked to still be a teen but he held such confidence in his stature it was hard to not see him as an adult. His shoulders were broad, and his steps sure.  _

_ Mika watched as he accidentally bumped into an elderly woman. He had waved his hand in apology and stooped down to pick up the dropped basket, his cloak falling to the side and looking faded in colour instead of the rich purple it was a moment ago. The hem was frayed, the back torn down the middle. The man stood up to hand the wicker basket to the woman and again the cloak looked new. The man bowed and when he straightened to continue on the rip in his cloak only got larger in size. The hood had fallen off revealing locks the same timber grey as -- _

Mika awoke with a start. That dream felt like more than a dream. Like a memory he had forgotten. Was that around the time he started searching out the other orphans of the town? Was the sudden money what spurred him on? Nothing was coming to him. That cloak too the man in the dream had, it was so similar … 

Looking around Mika couldn’t spot the wolf. Must have gone out to hunt for food. It was a terrible idea to search out the thing that had them in a rift yesterday, but Mika had to confirm it with his own eyes. He made his way back to the dead rose bush and pulled the cloak out. It really was like the one in his dream-not-dream. Not as vibrant but still just as intricate in its detailing. 

Trying to recall the memory only sent pain to his head. It was fuzzy but he could see the boots; see the way the cloak swept back and forth as the man turned away. Just like in the dream Mika had watched him walk away, but when he tried to remember what his face looked like the sharp pain in his skull only intensified. He fell to his knees clutching the cloak to his head as he grabbed it in agony. He yelled out in pain.

Mika could faintly feel heavy steps approach him, but his vision blurred when he tried to look up. 

“I’ve met the person this belonged to,” he panted, trying to get his bearings. “I-I can’t remember but I know I did. He-- He gave me food.” 

The throbbing wasn’t lessening, but Mika felt he had to continue to explain. Just to get all the facts in order, for himself, if not for the wolf who was probably just as irritated as yesterday. Even if it didn’t understand, even if Mika didn’t understand it himself. 

“The only stranger who ever really noticed me. Who didn’t pretend I was invisible like the villagers. Did ya know him?” Mika hesitated. “Did you … eat him? Ah! The notebook! Was that his too? Where was he from? He looked real rich so maybe his castle really is around here and the legends were true! Do ya know?”

The wolf looked down at the ground and Mika could only laugh. What an idiot he was. How was he supposed to get answers out of something that didn’t even speak? 

The notebook was pushed towards him by a paw. 

“I can’t read, so it’s kinda pointless,” but Mika opened the book regardless and flipped through it. The words were nothing but scribbles to him and even the doodles littered throughout made no sense. They looked like some form of sorting? Cutting of land maybe? The only thing that actually looked like effort was put into it was the page with a diagram. A rose the center of it. Some of its petals were falling and arrows shot around the page. One pointed to a bad drawing of a dog… no a wolf? Another to a cloud of sparks surrounding a stick figure whatever that meant. 

Mika stared at it intensely until the wolf put his fat paw on the page and looked him. Mika was the first to break the stare down.

“The only dumb thing coming to mind is you got poofed into a wolf, but fairy tales ain’t real … they're just stories. To give kids hope y’know?” 

The beast bumped his snout against Mika’s chin. Like confirming the silly thing Mika had just said might have been true. 

“‘Kay, you’re acting like you actually understand what I’m saying which is crazy. More nuts than how I’ve been talking to a giant animal for the last week waiting for it to eat me.”

The wolf scoffed. 

“Okay then,” Mika scowled. 

Was he really about to play a mix of twenty questions and charades with an animal? 

“Were you the one who came to my village...” Mika counted on his fingers, head ringing the longer he concentrated. “Like maybe I don't know how many years! Have you seen my village? Me?”

The wolf bowed his head. Alright, the game was on then.

“Then ya knew how bad the place was. With all that money ya had. Why didn’t ya help us? Or them? Maybe the place wouldn’ve gotten so bad right now if we got help. Instead of .. throwing me a couple coins.” 

The wolf snapped his jaw once like it was telling him off. Of course he couldn’t explain. Yes or no questions only. He was a damned wolf. Literally. Maybe if Mika had learned to read he’d find more answers in the leather notebook, but he hadn’t.

“Whatever, it was forever ago anyway. So a magic wolf huh? Guess some stories got truth in ‘em a bit. Did ya really let that boy escape with just a missing arm? Or how about the one where the king hated humans so much he ran away from his kingdom and got bit by a werewolf and went mad?” Mika paused. “Ah but that one’s definitely not true, you seem sane enough. 

“Hmm … a friend’s ma told her one though of a prince who transformed after not finding true love. Said right before the lover’s kiss he turned into an ugly beast and everyone forgot about him. But if that one’s true then how come I remember you.. Well I guess I really don’t though huh? Only after seeing that cape of yours and even then my head’s all messed up trying to think about it.

“True love huh? Wonder what kinda person y’were. Who did ya fall in love with? Where is your castle anyway? Don’t tell me you weren’t a prince at all? What you do to get cursed?” 

Mika’s mouth ran a mile a minute with questions. Curiosity outweighed the stupidity of it all. He always was a kid interested in the strange. 

The wolf looked up and around. Mika followed his gaze. There continued to be nothing but an open space with trees lining the perimeter. The foliage did seem to have a hard time growing past a certain point around them though. The grass got patchier once it reached some invisible line until it stopped completely and nothing but weeds and dirt continued. So Mika did find the secret base. It was just gone somehow. Like it blew away in the night. 

“Well thanks I guess for helping a dirty kid like me out all those years ago,” Mika scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “And now too! For y’know, not eating me.” 

It was a surprise when snow started to fall. Had it really gotten that cold? Maybe Mika had finally gotten used to it after being out for so long in so little. The wolf grabbed the ragged cloak in his mouth and draped it over Mika, ushering him to follow. He did so unquestionably, gripping the collar of the cloak with one hand and the notebook firmly in the other. He was guided to a small cave hidden well enough that Mika never found it during his wandering. It blended in with the moss and low hanging tree branches. 

Inside there were more trinkets being kept. This must have been the wolf’s real home before Mika came along. It kind of made Mika happy knowing he was trusted enough to be brought here now. A brown leather chest was tucked in the corner which he curiously opened up to find gold coins. Mika gasped. He’d never seen so much money in his life before. He must really have been a prince! Beside the chest was a torn photo of a dog. A real dog, a weird one Mika hadn’t seen before with stubby legs and pointed ears. If it had a tail it was super tiny. It stood beside someone in tall boots, but that’s all Mika could see because the photo was torn. Next to that was a thorny rose stem. It was definitely old looking, all brown and frail, and Mika was afraid to touch it, in case the curse was somehow contagious. Did one curse out-do another? Was he even cursed in the first place? Mika didn’t want to chance it.

The wolf came back with mouthfuls of firewood and Mika set up a nice pit for them to sit around. They sat in the den huddled around the fire and Mika pressed his back against the warmth of the wolf’s pelt. 

“Wish I knew what your name was,” he chuckled. “But thanks again. Feels pretty nice finding someone else to be cursed with don’t it?”


	5. Chapter 4

His old man had really outdone himself this time. Sick bastard not willing to help his own kingdom if it meant sparing coin. What kind of leader was he? A shitty one if greed outweighed any sense of loyalty. To think the roots of corruption had already planted themselves deep into the royal council. That even Koga, the direct heir, was shunned from these council meetings only reflected just how much the King detested him knowing about the workings of the inner circle. 

Koga had to hear the news that yet another village was cut off from royal aid from gossiping maids instead of from the man himself who had decreed it. How he hated that man. Hated everyone who followed him. The ones who looked down on others. Who belittled and ignored those in need, the unfortunate ones who were trapped in a shitty system of a government the King had created. 

After cooling his head off from yet another argument with the King, Koga walked back to the councilor's sanctum with another point he forgot to mention in their heated debate. The guy was too busy talking with a mysterious man to take notice of his approach. The man had long white hair and wore a mask more suited for a gala than whatever it was the two were doing. 

“True love?” the King balked, squinting at the diagram the long-haired man had drawn. “Spell as strong as ever if that’s the only cure. That son of mine would never fall in love.”

“Ah but sire, love is Amazing!” the man exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air and having rose petals flutter about. He seemed as eccentric as they came. “It comes in so many forms! It’s never too late to fall in love!”

“Bah! By the time he finds love it _will_ be too late for him. Use this one.”

“As you wish.” 

Stones crunched under the heavy footsteps of his boots as Koga walked through the meager village. By horse it was less than a day away from the villa his father confined him to. He didn't know why he hadn't thought of it sooner honestly. Should have just left the castle and helped the people behind his old man's back. Instead he had sulked in his wing alone thinking there was nothing he could have done. Teenage foolishness is what it was, though he was still a teen now. 

Originally the plan had been to assess just how far the King had taken his greed. How little he was providing. How much work Koga had cut out for himself to make things right. If he was to lose his humanity then it was only right to try his best before his time ran out. Something he should have done earlier. 

Arriving at the first town, Koga saw first hand just how pitiful the kingdom, his kingdom, was. The streets were littered with half empty stalls and judging from the rundown faces and poor quality of the goods it wasn’t from swift selling. He walked up to one, grabbed a fair sized apple from the small pile, and flipped the seller a coin.. 

“Sir, I have no change for this,” the stall keeper said holding out the gold piece.

Readjusting the hood of his cloak, Koga lifted his hand up to stop him. 

“Keep it.” 

Half hidden in a shabby alley stuffed with trash was a boy who looked no older than ten. Even in a town so small there were still orphans, huh? Koga approached the kid and took in his ratty appearance. Black hair unkempt wearing clothes just as bad. His bare feet and the ground he sat on indistinguishable from each other with the amount of dirt staining them. The boy looked up at him sadly and Koga took in his odd eyes. He tossed the apple into his lap and a few gold coins as well. Kid looked like he could use them, malnourished and under dressed. Adults were shitty everywhere.

“Chin up, kid,” he said and onward he traveled to the next town over. 

It was all much the same. Worn down streets; worn down people. After the first hub he realized how conspicuous his royal garb was and packed it away and instead donned a much more common green one. He stayed in rat infested hostels and chatted with the locals under the guise of a traveler. Learned all he could about his fellow countrymen and the country his father had chosen to forsaken. One Koga realized, he didn’t know as well as he thought either. 

A year he spent, realizing too late of the time limit that mage had given him. How long had he said when he pressed his thumb to Koga’s forehead and whispered his magic mumbo-jumbo? How long had Koga wallowed in that villa before he stopped wasting time sulking and actually did something?

He returned to the villa in time to see a single petal remain on its stem. Ah, so it was too late for him. Not like he was ever really searching for someone anyway. Not like he was planning on it either. Part of him thought it was all some stupid scheme just to get him out of the palace, not actually a curse that would turn him into... something. He had spent his time helping the less fortunate. Gave them what resources he could to keep them going even just a little longer. That was good enough for Koga. One last bit of spite against his so-called father. Show that ugly man that people weren’t just play things to be disposed of when profits dwindled. That they would do all they could if it meant living. 

_Body, mind, humanity; without. One means nothing, there is no doubt._

_Twenty two petals, twenty two moons. Without love one loses it soon._

_Only true love can render all void. If one does nothing all is destroyed._

The last petal fell and Koga was greeted with pain worse than anything he’d ever felt.

_He stares at the moon pitifully from the windowsill and waits for the pain to overtake him. It starts as a ripple up his spine and pierces every nerve along the way. Too soon razors prick against his skin. From the inside out they rend his skin mercilessly. Coarse hair grows from his arms, his neck, everywhere until his entire body is covered. Furry hands crack and break as his skeleton morphs. Claws replace bleeding fingertips. He falls to all fours and cries out in pain as his legs give into the change. Tendons pull apart, being reconstructed and replaced. His back arches and does much the same. Snaps and distorts, then slowly repairs itself until Koga is left whimpering on the floor of the study wishing he was dead. No longer human. A beast._

_When he awakens and the pain lessens Koga let’s out a sigh of relief. Every full moon he has to relive this day. The day the last petal falls and stupid Koga, stupid stupid Koga who didn’t really believe, loses all of himself._

_The villa his parents ‘lovingly’ left him to rot in crumbles away before his eyes. He watches as the walls around him begin to collapse, books falling onto the floor, glass shattering as portraits fall. He runs awkwardly on his new legs down the stairs, who’s steps fall away as fast as Koga leaves them. Out the door he runs into the rose garden and watches as the villa falls apart. An avalanche of brick and mortar that just as quickly become nothing but a pile of rubble._

_Koga digs through it desperately. He’s replayed this part so many times that he knows he’s wasting his energy but still he digs. Even as the pieces he throws away turn into dust before they even hit the ground. He only stops when his clawed hands grasp the leather bound book he had stolen from his father. Written inside was all he needed to prove what the King truly was. It was useless now, but it was an anchor to the last shreds of human life. Koga flips through it carefully to not tear its pages. A photo falls to the ground of him, his parents and their pet dog. He was only eight in that photo. They looked so happy together. Koga smiling brightly still missing a front tooth; unaware of what he was born into. With his sharp claws he rips the photo and tucks the portion with the dog back in the notebook. The only one who stayed pure._

_He pulls out his cloak that he had stolen from a guard back at the castle. Gold embroidery was meant for the royal line while silver for its protectors. He remembers being a kid and stowing it away in his room for when he finally escaped the castle as an unknown guard instead of a ‘prince’ for a family not worthy. It was much too big for him then -- the cloak or the dream -- and much too small for him now. Not with his grotesque form._

_The last of the rubble blows away in the wind leaving Koga in an empty clearing. In the middle of where the villa once sat was that accursed rose. Now just an empty stem. With his new vocal cords Koga howls in frustration. He feels it build in his gut and let’s it out like a roar. He tears at the ground accidentally shredding his cloak in his episode. If he was to live as a beast for the rest of his life, he would act like one._

When Koga awoke, the boy was cowering in the corner. He could still feel his heart pounding from the nightmare and he had left a puddle of drool on the floor of the cave. 

“Y’were growling ‘n snarling ‘n whimpering in yer sleep,” the boy stammered out. Even with the look of terror on his face, he inched closer. “I didn’t know what to do.”

Koga sat up and shook his head causing spit to fly onto the wall. Damn nightmares. How many months, years had he re-lived them and still they made his body ache, his mind ache. Every full moon he could feel a shard of his humanity vanish. Over time his grotesque humanoid form had shifted into a relatively normal looking wolf. How long until his mind was overtaken by the beast as well? Would there come a day when Koga would forget all he was? Would he feel more at peace if he did?

He felt small hands run through his fur, pushing him out of his train of thought.

“I used to run my fingers through the kids’ hair when they had night terrors. It calmed them ‘til they wanted to talk about it. But you can’t so … pat pat.” 

Such a stupid thing being patted like a pet, and yet Koga felt his body calm down faster than it ever had. If this could continue even when his mind was consumed by the beast within then maybe the future wasn’t so terrible.


	6. Chapter 5

Winter kicked in for real. The snow got heavier and the only warmth Mika had was the tattered cloak and a makeshift fur pelt he had skinned. That was an ordeal and one he never wanted to think about again, but he was grateful he did it when the winds whistled through the den and sent shivers down his neck. Even more so when the chills kicked in and he could do nothing more than shiver under it. 

He sat by the fire that zapped more energy lighting it than it should have, and was consumed by a rib rattling cough. 

_ Ah.  _ He thought. The fun times were finally ending, huh? Playing house in the woods with a prince turned beast. A fairytale of his own he finally had to wake up from. Out here there were no cures. No herbs fix him. That berry bush he found that one day was all he ever found. Nothing wanted to grow out here. 

The days pass and Mika continued to leave the food and water brought to him untouched. He stayed huddled in the back of the cave with the wolf’s treasures around him, as far from the opening as possible to keep the chill back. No matter the wood the animal brought back, the fire wouldn’t shake Mika’s illness. Head bobbing in and out of consciousness, too tired to stay awake but too stubborn to sleep, Mika caught the old rose stem out of the corner of his eye. Was that a bud Mika was seeing? Or was he just delirious? He blinked but his eyes were too heavy to open.

Koga had been on edge for days. Any sound or movement the boy made had Koga’s head turn to check on him. He wouldn’t eat; wouldn’t drink. His coughing fits lasted longer as time went on. When Koga licked his forehead of his sweat, he was burning up. It left Koga uneasy. It made his chest tighten with worry the same way it had when these symptoms plagued his mother. At least then there was a doctor to attend her and after taking medicine she got better. Koga could provide none of that. No hands to put cool cloths over his forehead. No change of clothes for his out-sweated ones. Worst of all no medicine. For that he had himself to blame. With his curse, it scorched the land so nothing would grow and that included the small flowerbed of herbs his mother had planted beside the veranda all those years ago.

Koga couldn’t even really place the reason for his slowly rising panic. The kid was just some nobody he met not even a moon ago. Sure they bonded over restless nights and their cursed lives, but at the end of it he was just some kid -- some human -- who barged into his territory and was lucky enough to get away with it. Continued to get lucky and wheedle his way into Koga’s too caring heart. If the curse had taken that first then maybe he wouldn’t feel so miserable right now, clinging to any sign of the boy’s condition changing. 

Koga returned with another bunch of firewood. Things were getting harder to find outside as the snow built up. Dry wood was dwindling and there was little time to wait for it. Using his paw, he adjusted the pelt covering him. Something was off. His breathing was slow. Slower than it should have been for someone only sleeping. He put his pointed ear to the boy’s chest. Familiar. The same pace as when he had first confronted the kid in the woods ready to scare him away. He hadn’t shit his pants like the others and run away, instead his body went into some kind of trance where his heart was stopping for him. Like he was in shock or something. Like he was dying.

Koga nudged the boy in his side and got an irritated hum in response. Good, he was still there. What could Koga do? Even if he took the boy back to the village would he survive? Would he be able to get help in time without anyone running away from a beast holding what could be a corpse? He had to try. It was the closest place with any hope of finding a remedy. Koga couldn’t stand the thought of leaving him here to die. In the back of his mind he wondered what bothered him more, the dying or the leaving him part. 

Koga wrapped the boy the best he could, stuffed the kid’s satchel with coin, and awkwardly tossed him over his back. Getting a sleeping body to grab onto him was tough, but when Koga felt arms snake around his neck it was go time. As fast as he could without throwing the kid off, Koga ran. Not since he first transformed had Koga ran at such a blinding speed, but this time it wasn’t aimlessly. He headed straight for the village he had visited all those years ago, with the boy he unexpectedly met there. 

The sun was high and gave them a bit of warmth as they sprinted across the snowy fields. Koga panted like crazy, but he managed to reach town before sunset. Finally his beastly form had purpose. He looked around the empty streets. Everyone was probably holed up in their own homes trying to escape the cold. Koga cleared a spot in an alley to put the boy down. After securing the blanket around him, Koga frantically took to the streets in search of an herbal shop. He remembered the remedy the doctors had used when his mother had fallen ill. If he could just find the right leaves. 

Screaming.

_ Lord have mercy. The boy’s come back to devour us all. _

Koga had no time for their shit. He charged into the shop and scoured for the jar. It was so hard when he didn’t have hands to move things. Instead his paws smashed jars left and right when they weren’t the ones he was looking for. 

There. Leaves with tiny spikes around its star-like shape. He grabbed it in his jaw and bolted out the door through the throng of people now holding pitchforks and shovels. One managed to stab him in the hind leg before he could turn the corner and Koga shattered the jar in his muzzle, clenching from the pain. There wasn’t time to play limp. He had dealt with far worse pain than that. Licking up whatever leaves he could Koga continued on. His pace was slower, but no less determined. 

The blind sense of purpose he held confused him. The boy was all he could think about. Would he reach him? Was he still breathing? Had others found him like they found Koga? Please just let Koga reach him. 

Koga was beyond saving -- thought he was beyond saving -- and yet that kid, that sad kid who clung to life just as loosly as Koga when they met in the woods and looser now still, had warmed something in him. Melted the frost that slowly encased his heart. Was that what love was? Was this what he was supposed to find those years ago before the rose wilted? A shame, Koga thought, but it was of no matter now. 

Save the boy and together they could escape from the real world once more. Koga would be smarter. Find herbs for when he got sick, more clothes, better food. He forgot what it meant to live like a human. They needed more than shelter and food. They were fragile and needed warmth. Care. Koga would give those things. He had received so much care and warmth from the boy in a short amount of time. He would repay him and continue to repay him as long as he was able.

The area was still clear when Koga reached the alley. His leg was going numb, but he paid it no mind. He shoved his snout into the boy’s face, tongue down his throat trying to push every leaf he saved down it. Trickles of saliva to help him swallow easier. It wasn’t the best solution but a wolf could only do so much. A perverse kiss of sorts.

No response. Of course not. He was too far gone. Koga had taken too long and now the villagers were filing in with rage in their eyes and fiery in their hands. Koga wrapped himself around the boy and waited for the killing blow. Go down together in the place they first met. What a sick twist of fate that was.

A cough. A twitching hand. Koga’s neck snapped with how quick his head shot up to look at the boy. Disbelief clear in his eyes and then pain. Pain in his abdomen from the prongs of a makeshift spear. He let out a howl of agony and collapsed all his weight on the boy he managed to save. 

Mika awoke to a freezing behind, a warm front, and a gross taste in his mouth. His body was sore, but he could move it. Maybe not with the crushing weight over him now though. The yelling of the townsfolk filtered in until that was all Mika could hear. A cacophony of shouts and commands getting louder by the second. 

Somehow he was back in his town and no no no. It was the wolf that was squashing his body. Was he dead? He could feel his chest move against his. Still breathing. Or was that Mika breathing and rubbing against him? Why was he even there? Why was Mika there? He really didn’t want to leave his safety net, but making sense of the situation was in order. Crawling out from under the pile of furs, Mika took in the sight of pitchforks. Mainly, the one speared into the wolf’s side! Had he protected him? He really was Prince Charming, huh? A knight in shining furry armor. 

_ Conspiring with the devil himself! We knew all along. Now we can be rid of both! _

Suddenly nothing else mattered. Not the ridiculing or the threats of death the sharp metal hinted at. Pleas to stop fell from his mouth while he yanked on the metal tool in the wolf’s side. His body was still weak, but with enough force he managed to dislodge it. It clattered to the snowy ground and Mika panicked when blood gushed out. Without the fork there was nothing stopping him from bleeding out. Panicked Mika pushed his cold hands to the wound to try and stop it. More cries left him.

Mika couldn’t lose him. Didn’t want to lose that thread of hope that somehow got all knotted together after thinking it had snapped for good. It was crazy to think he fell in love with a human he never really met, but Mika had. He had fallen in love with a prince with no name who was now a dying wolf in a walkway. His blood warm on Mika’s hands. 

Given up he draped himself over the beast’s body. Tears spilled from his eyes and strings of apologies and thank yous from his chapped lips. The crunch of snow could be heard from behind him. They were approaching. This had always been his fate though. A cursed child never received a happy ending. He was lucky enough to have a taste of something so bittersweet before the end of it all really. 

Mika ran his fingers through the mane framing the wolf’s head. Placing a kiss on his opened muzzle, he whispered a sorrowful  _ I love you  _ and waited for the final blow. 

Before that blow could land the village filled with light, blinding the attacker. An invisible force pushed everyone back, including Mika, away from the wolf. Its form twisted into a grotesque imitation of one, filling the air with the sound of cracking bones and tearing flesh. It continued until all that was left of the beast was a naked man with amber eyes and timber grey hair not unlike the wolf he had just morphed from. Speechless, Mika and the villagers both could only stand and watch the scene unfold.

Mika stood there gawking at the now human prince. Was he really a prince though? His memories were flooding back, but Mika was still confused. The only thing he understood clearly was that was the face of the man from his dream-not-dream. The hair, though now longer, was grey. In his mind the blurry face dissolved into a sharp nose and gaze sharper. His lips were the same tint of pink as his cheeks from the blazing heat from that day. He had worn a hooded cloak even with the sun beating down on them. It really was him. He stood in front of Mika with his broad chest nearly level with his own small one. Gently he placed a hand to it. Warm, and a heartbeat Mika could feel. His wounded side was magically gone too. 

Magic. 

“Could a guy get some wraps around here?!” Voice rough from years of disuse snapped, cutting the tension of the crowd and snapping Mika out of his thoughts.

Befuddled a couple villagers handed over coats, forgetting why they were out in the cold to begin with, with weapons in their hands. As if the wolf attack had never happened. They conversed between themselves in their confusion until one caught sight of Mika. 

_ Back to finish the task have you? We thought we were rid of you! _

The man stepped in front of Mika no less intimidating now than he was before, even while not wearing pants, and threw Mika’s satchel at the villagers’ feet. Coins spilled out the top.

“By order of the Royal Line, leave the fucking kid alone will ya.” 

“Who do ya think you are, huh?” The old bat from the bakery leered. 

Shoving Mika in front of him, the man pulled the dirty cloak from around Mika for the crowd to see. Though worn and frayed the intricacies of the royal design was clear in the silver edging.

_ What’s a royal guard doing here? Haven’t heard from them in ages.  _ They murmured between themselves.

“I promise you there will be aid. Use this coin to get your people through the winter and come spring I will do my best to help fertilize your fields, to bolster your outputs,” As a child Koga was never one to beg or bow down to others. Humility never came to him even when he was cursed. Only now after regaining something -- someone -- he thought was lost forever did he grasp it. “All I ask is to stop this witch hunt. Let the boy go. What’s so cursed about him anyway? His eyes? 

“Look into mine and tell me they’re a gateway to hell.” The deadly stare he gave them only proved his point, but no one dared to speak it. They gave him the few supplies he asked for, mainly pants and shoes for the both of them, and grabbed Mika by the arm to leave. 

They made it to the village outskirts before they slowed down. The man let go of Mika’s arms and began to pace. 

“Ah! Wait!” Mika blurted. They were close to the graves he had planted. Brushing snow off a stone just barely peeking out, Mika placed his hand on it.

“You guys were right ya know. I found the secret base. Well it might have fallen apart but it was there once upon a time. And that wolf was real too! Only a bunch nicer than the stories. He was actually a prince! Well a guard …. Ah I never got yer name,” Mika realized.

The man turned around surprised he was being talked to. He cleared his throat.

“Koga.”

“Koga,” Mika repeated blushing a little. He could blame it on the chill couldn’t he? Plus all the excitement they just escaped too. He stood from his squat. “So what now?”

Koga scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

“Hadn’t really thought that far. Kinda forgot I wasn’t a wolf anymore. We should probably stay the night in the town right?” His eyes widened. “Oh shit how are you feeling? We really shouldn’t be in the cold. You were almost dying when I brought you here!”

“Nah, I feel good as new,” To prove his point Mika struck a silly pose with his tongue stuck out. 

Together they stood in front of the graves awkwardly not knowing what to do with themselves. Mika was the first to speak up.

“Uhm, if yer up for it, I wouldn’t mind going back to your cave…” The walk would be tedious with the weather what it was, but he really didn’t want to stay in the town.

Koga let out a rumble of a chuckle. “Almost dies in the streets and now wants to die in the cold instead? Yeah sure.” He took a few steps forward and looked back, ushering Mika to follow. “Let’s go home.”

The grin on Mika’s face was bright enough to challenge the sun as he ran to catch up.

“‘M Mika by the way,” he said, their voices fading into the distance.

“Mika.”


	7. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One day when I'm super horny people will see a sequel. It will be Mika's dream sequence.

The years pass along and the village was finally looking like a real one. Fields filled with edible crops, stalls on the street full of stock instead of barely half filled from the year’s harvest. Kids actually playing outside looking well fed instead of beaten down and forgotten. 

Koga had followed up on his promise. After breaking the curse, he had set out to find his father the King and together they made an agreement. That if the King would supply provisions to the small town by the villa and leave Koga to pursue the stability of the villages by his own means, he wouldn’t meddle in royal affairs; let everyone continue to pretend he was dead in the mountains. The King was shocked to even see his abandoned son, but after Koga had flashed the leather notebook that contained all the King’s bribery and taint, in his confused recalculating panic he agreed. 

With everything being settled, it left Koga and Mika to themselves back in that clearing. They had built a modest sized cabin for the two of them. Koga not caring about his lodgings and chalking it up to he’d lived in a cave for how many years, anything would do. And Mika? Mika had never had a proper home before so anything would suit him. Age 22 and finally Mika had a place he could call Home. They had a small rose garden out front. The grass finally growing where the old villa used to stand. 

The walk back to the cave was filled with chattering, mostly on Mika’s end. Questions about how old Koga was, how long had he been cursed for, what being a royal guard was like, why was he cursed in the first place? To which Koga replied we wasn’t a guard. He  _ was _ a prince. Just a bratty one who didn’t like the way things were run and his father hated him for it. How he couldn’t remember how old he was, but he couldn’t have been more than ten years older than Mika, maybe.

They had returned to the cave with their new blankets and food to see the discarded rose stem had indeed budded. Mika hadn’t been hallucinating. Koga had no way to explain except magic was wack. He suggested tossing the thing out now that he had no use for it. Mika protested, grabbing the rose and tucking it away for spring, when he would try and plant it. If it was magic maybe rose hips weren’t necessary. He joked that maybe it had started to bloom because their feelings for each other had to which Koga sputtered  _ that’s nonsense how can you say something so embarrassing! _

They were doing stuff even more embarrassing now Mika thought, all cozy in their cottage. Kissing before breakfast. Groping before bed. He wasn’t used to such intimate contact and even still he got butterflies fluttering around in his belly when Koga made a pass.

The worst for Mika though were his dreams. Dreams of a tongue much longer than what Koga had now invading his mouth. Sliding across his own and down his throat, making him choke and gag and beg for it again. Of a body much heavier and hairier covering his own, rutting against his naked self and filling him with knot and seed. Mika would wake up sweaty and hard from such a dream but he couldn’t tell Koga. Tell him what? He subconsciously regreted not being able to fuck his wolf self? That he wanted Koga to go feral on him? Absolutely Not. 

Instead he went a much more subtle route.

“So, did you ever,” Mika fidgeted at the breakfast bench. “Go into heat when you were ... y’know?”

Koga choked on his slice of bread. 

“Just wondering ‘cause like wolves have a different pace don’t they? Ah but then y’were actually human inside so…” 

After collecting his composure, Koga gave Mika a look that could only be read as ‘Huh?’.

“Ya sayin’ you want a raging beast in bed?” he jokingly asked still reeling from the question, but judging from the striking red blossoming on Mika’s cheeks and creeping to the tips of his ears, maybe he actually hit the mark.

Koga was in disbelief. 

“Ya know after all these years the question I thought you would ask would be like ‘Hey why didn’t you eat me back then?’ or ‘What was it like being a wolf?’ But no. This is where your mind went?”

Mika tried to deny it, but it was the truth wasn’t it? His dreams were telling him so.

“Just feels like a missed opportunity is all?” he rationalized. 

Koga stood up and walked over to Mika, grabbing him by the back of the shirt and dragging him to the bedroom. He hovered over him on all fours after tossing him on the bed. Predatory eyes locked on him the same as that day. When Mika had run into the woods, frightened and desperate. Those were the eyes trained on him now. Then it had his body shutdown in resignation, now it heated his entire being up, starting from the chest and with every pump of his rapidly beating heart it traveled further and further down, into his stomach, into his groin. 

Voice low and almost guttural, Koga leaned down to Mika’s still blushing ear. 

“Then perhaps you’d like to see exactly what you missed?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you aware that grey wolves actually only fuck for about 5 minutes before the knot is introduced? 5 minutes and then they stand around stuck to each other for a half hour. Mika you aren’t missing much.
> 
> Thanks for coming! Mika's surprise question is literally the only reason I started writing this fic and in the end I CHICKENED OUT. I DON'T WANT TO WRITE IT MYSELF.


End file.
